This article recounts hosting the recent, and first, Edinburgh Area Course. It was provided by Sensei Ben Docherty who teaches at the Edinburgh Ki Aikido Club.
I was around twelve years old when I attended my first area course. It was hosted by my own club, Stewartfield, in my home town of East Kilbride. It was held in my old alumnus, St. Andrews high school. This has long gone now, and been replaced by housing. You would think that such familiarity would put me at ease. However, as a shy young boy, lacking in confidence and full of self-doubt, it was an altogether terrifying experience.
I remember feeling the scale of it. For years I had known that the club was a part of something bigger. But I did not get a true sense of that until that day. I remember the dread of it, the daunting nature of the crowd and the presence of the visiting Sensei (Sensei Val, if I recall correctly). I don’t remember much of what was taught that day. But I do vividly recall the feeling of enormity, the red brick of the school gym walls elevating the seriousness of it all. I cowered at the back of the mat, watching the minutes and seconds tick by on the large black and white clock. Stewartfield was a large club at that time, particularly in the Juniors section. There was a row of white belts that was almost falling off the edge of the mat. I felt very small indeed.
All that said, it was a fantastic experience. There was an overarching feeling of being a part of something. Something bigger than just Stewartfield or East Kilbride. There was a community here, a caring and and encouraging one. I felt older by the end, more mature. I was previously buried deep in my shell, and this shock to the system, was needed to draw me out. Over the years there would many other courses, from Paisley to Darlington to Wales and, of course, our Headquarters in Mark. Area courses would form an intrinsic part of my upbringing, both generally, and in Ki Aikido.
Fast forward a couple of decades (give or take) and I’m getting ready to host my first ever course at my new found home in Edinburgh. I’d long neglected taking my turn at hosting, using the excuse of having a small club (for the most part, just one dedicated member). We had been starting to grow a little before the global event, that won’t be named. Following our return, we moved around a few locations before settling on The Club Gym, in the Bonnington area of Leith. A lovely little dance studio attached to a private gym. It was certainly spacious enough for our current needs, but hardly of the scale that we were used to on area courses. Then came January, and a sudden boom to our club numbers. With four new white belts on the mat and another two students just passing gradings in November, it was time to take my turn. My first thought was to look into the leisure centres They generally had gym halls, dedicated martial art rooms, plenty of on-site parking and creche areas that are perfect for tea and lunch breaks. It seemed the sensible choice. However, previous experience with Edinburgh Leisure put me off. The Club Gym was very accommodating and flexible with me over our time there. So I made the bold choice to put the course on at our usual Dojo, despite the lack of space and facilities.
Securing the date was the easy part. The first issue was space as the hall was about the size of a squash court. As a test, both the Stewartfield and Elderslie clubs were kind enough to visit back in April. With twelve people on the mat (beating the previous best of seven) there still seemed to be plenty of room. As I estimated somewhere between fifteen and twenty people on the day, this felt sufficient. The fact that more than twenty arrived on the actual day was a pleasant surprise. The second issue was the breaks. If you’ve seen the photos from the day you’ll have seen that there was limited room to move around and setup for tea breaks. The idea was to utilize the balcony area that overlooked the dancehall. We placied a table or two at one end and arranged chairs in two rows facing each other. Another few tables would be setup in the corner to allow members to self-serve tea and food.
I had serious doubts about how this would work in reality, but it all went smoothly on the day. This in large part because of the help of my partner Zenash! A tea urn was supplied by my student, Alex, and a teapot was brought in by another student, Drew. A true team effort.
A local Indian restaurant was booked for dinner afterwards, which proved simple enough, but securing catering for lunch proved a little trickier. With no kitchen on site, it would be impossible to self-cater and all attempts to secure mobile catering were coming up blank. In the end, a recommendation from the gym owner, Davina, led us to a local service. This was run by the fantastic Jane, and sandwiches and fruit were secured for the day. When we broke for lunch however, food had not arrived. After checking my phone, I saw a message from Jane with a picture of a blown tyre, that she had suffered en-route. I was worried all was lost. But after hitching a lift from a friend, Jane delivered only a half an hour late. A truly heroic effort and successful day all round!
Area courses meant a lot of different things in my youth: independence; time away from parents; and a chance to practice with the grown-ups. They mean a lot of different things now: catching up with friends; my students sitting kyu gradings; and illuminating conversations with the higher grades.
There was a lot of time, effort, and emotional capacity behind the organising and running of the course. But I couldn’t be happier with the result. I only wish I’d done it sooner. I wish I hadn’t waited until I had students ready for Kyu Gradings. I wish I hadn’t waited till the club grew, I wish I’d just done it. I highly recommend that anyone else in a position to do so, does the same.
Click here to view all the pictures from the Edinburgh Area Course.
Ben Docherty
Edinburgh Ki Aikido Club